Sunday (what a gorgeous fall day!) Betsy and I went to dinner at the home of some friends. I carried along the leftover '99 Poyferre, which was still going strong- round and ripe with a bit of vanilla and cedar. Plus Ron had a red open as we arrived:

2004 Rosenblum "Heritage Clones" Petite Sirah Big and a bit hot. Dense blackberry and black plum fruit, some notes of chocolate and toast. A slap-you-around kind of wine, not my style. I can see how some would love it (and did). I can't get past the alcohol, but if you like the style you probably like far more than I did. But for me, B-/C+

With the stuffed lobster, there were 3 wines on the table:
2005 Brundlmayer "Terrassen" Gruner Veltliner (Kamptal)I brought this because I'd had Ron's baked lobster before and knew the stuffing was pretty spicy. This is dry but with a sweetness to the fruit I thought might temper the spice (and did). Light to medium bodied Gruner with a good fruit base. Citrus peel accents over nice apple fruit, some white pepper. Good acidic balance, good finish for a GV priced in the mid to low teens . B+/B

2004 Cambria Katherines Vineyard Chardonnay (Santa Maria) Also tropical, also oaky but the flavors are more distinctive and the oak more integrated. Good depth for an inexpensive Chard, I could use a tad more acidity but this isn't bad. Peach, mango, and pear flavors, a bit of spice and toasty oak. B

With the cheese course another guest passed the (as far as I can remember non-vintage) Sharpe Hill Ballet of Angels. I don't know the cepage, I don't know the producer, and don't want to. Sharp, short, and sweet, a wine to make one crave White Zinfandel. Funky/musty floral aromas, canned peach flavors. A 19th century portrait of a little girl on label might be best thing about wine. C-

Fun night, though some of the wines weren't so fun.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

Let's not give the entire East Coast a bad name. These were all NY wines as far as I can tell. Heck, they all seem to be Hudson Valley wines. You know you could have done better with some NY FL, or VA whites. Too bad you were stuck with these goats. Glad you had fun otherwise. It isn't always about the wine.

Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'til he knowsThat too many people have died?The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the windThe answer is blowin' in the wind.

Ballet of Angels is from my home state of Connecticut, and it is appaling. It gets talked up all over the place up here, and it's appaling. There's no excuse for it. It's appaling.

Did I mention it sucks. As a matter of fact, I have tasted pretty much through the CT wines, and none of them merit drinking in my book. I would not use them as drain cleaner. I'm not in favor of turturing my home plumbing system.